Seattle Times: Protect U.S. food aid from the shipping industry
Rick Steves, travel writer and member of Bread for the World

“…Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision, hidden inside Coast Guard reauthorization bill H.R. 4005, … [that] mandates that 75 percent — an increase from 50 percent — of U.S. food aid be shipped on U.S.-flagged cargo ships. … This provision is opposed by the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as a host of religious groups and nongovernmental organizations, such as Catholic Relief Services, Bread for the World and Mercy Corps. … Including this provision to increase restrictions on how our food aid is shipped would be a major setback to the world’s hungry, as well as to the efficiency of America’s food-aid programs…” (6/3).